A good weekend

First things first. Here's a fresh batch of pictures that were taken the first two times we were able to hold Abigail (the last two Saturdays): Link to new Abby pictures

Abby's having a great run of days again. We've been able to hold her for about an hour a piece each of the last two days. We're doing what's called "kangaroo care," meaning we hold her against our chests under our shirts. This helps keep her warm and secure. It also gives her lots of skin-to-skin contact, which is good for her development. As she's still less than two pounds, it's not very hard to hold her for a long time.

While we hold her, we talk with her about a lot of things and sing to her. We also are quiet sometimes to allow her to rest. She usually keeps her eyes closed, but it's great when she opens them wide and looks right at us.

As I said, she's doing well. They have resumed her feedings and are giving her 3 mL of milk every three hours. She's reportedly handling it well, which is good for her and for our freezer space!

She continues to be a fighter. She works so hard breathing that sometimes she gets tired and decides to stop. Sometimes, her heart rate drops too. This is, believe it or not, normal for premature babies. Alarms go off, and, if Abby doesn't fix the problem herself quickly, we or the nurses take steps to fix it for her. (We learned today to rub her chest and/or flick her feet when this happens; that's usually enough. The next step, which we've seen a few times, is to use a bag to force her to breathe a few times until she's back on her own.)

Anyway, it's back to work for me tomorrow. It will be an easier week, though, with the holiday. Ann (one of our friends from Harding and China) is coming to visit this week, and Jake and Lyz are coming up from Cincy one day, too.